Forever
by Illoria
Summary: From Imhotep's POV, at the end of TMR, he reflects on his and Anck-su-namun's story, how they met and the events leading up to their fate.


Forever (revised version!)  
By Laura ! =D  
  
  
  
  
Everything lies in ruins.  
  
And I am not just talking about our Egypt, the Temple of Osiris, the Palace, and everything else that we used to know – everything. The one thing that I live for now lays in ruins along with everything else, all the things whose importance pales in comparison to our love.  
  
Yes, really, I should've died more than three thousand years ago. But I defied death, for her. It was my promise to her that we would be together in peace. I am overtaken by my love for her, with no regrets. I still love her, more than any words, in any language – my own or the strange-sounding tongues of these modern times – can describe.  
  
As I die once more, I reflect painfully. Our past, our ancient, ancient past…  
  
**  
  
The sadness and desperation in her eyes haunted me from the very beginning. And there I was, the High Priest of Osiris, spending long nights weeping uninterruptedly for her. I knew that she was Pharaoh's newest victim, in the long line of unfortunate ladies whom he chained up with his words of contempt and torture, just for a few moments of pleasure for him. Pharaoh was a truly horrible man, inflicting endless torment on his female "slaves".  
  
But let me start from the beginning.  
  
Anck-su-namun changed me from the first time I saw her. I had been walking down a long hallway in the Palace, and had heard faint sobbing coming from one of the rooms. I kept walking at first, but the sobs, though distant and muffled, lured me back – I thought of them as a spear dipped in poison, straight through my heart. At the time I had not known who they belonged to, but obviously they were savagely hurting whoever it may have been.  
  
I turned around, my years of teaching as High Priest warning me not to go. I argued with myself, something I had never done before. A part of me said that I must go, I must comfort this aching heart – and eventually that part won against the other, more professional part of me that has since seemed to cease to exist.  
  
I inched open the door, carefully, not to frighten whoever-it-may-be. Apparently I did not succeed.  
  
A scream rang out from the bed placed in the middle of the room. I lingered at the doorframe, somehow afraid along with whomever-it-may-be. I glanced over, and saw a woman, her eyes wide and frantic with terror. She had pulled the bedsheets up past her chin. She did not move, and stayed perfectly still.  
  
"Do not worry, I came to help you…" I said, feeling helpless myself. I could not take my eyes off hers. I could definitely feel Osiris warning me, and I remember thinking that I'd have to do a lot of praying after this… But still, I knew that this was right.  
  
She was obviously not convinced of my words. She let out a small whimper, tears coming to those haunting, deep, brown eyes.  
  
I suddenly realized an introduction might somehow be appropriate.  
  
I walked over to her and said, "I am Imhotep, the High Priest. Do not be afraid…"  
  
She still did not speak. I knelt down on the floor beside her bed. "Do not be afraid…" I repeated.  
  
And then she burst into tears.  
  
I admit, I did not quite know what to do. She was trembling at first, and then soon, her whole body was shaking from those horrible cries. She screamed between sobs, curling up in a ball on the bed. I wondered about whatever horrible act had reduced this woman to such terror…  
  
I wanted to comfort her with all my soul. From that moment on, I felt like I would do anything, anything, for her. All I could think to do was embrace her shaking form.  
  
I reached out my arms and pulled her close to me, and –  
  
She shoved me backward, and I landed full-force on the ground, pain shooting up through my back. I stared up at her, shocked.  
  
"I was… trying to… help you," I managed to stutter. I was still unable to take my eyes off hers.  
  
She let out another small noise and stared at me with venom in her eyes. I noticed that there were tears leaking out of my own eyes. In the back of my mind I tried to remember the last time I had cried. There was no "last time", I realized.  
  
"What is your name?" I asked her.  
  
I could sense that she was wondering whether or not she should tell me. Finally she did, in a small-sounding voice. "Anck-su-namun."  
  
Her name was like music. I could've danced, and I would have danced if I had not still been faintly aware of my identity.  
  
"Anck-su-namun," I repeated, daring to rise from my sprawled position, kneel again beside her, and take her hand in my own and stroke it with my thumb. "Who has done this to you…?"  
  
The thought of who I was again crossed my mind. What am I doing? I am… The thoughts disappeared as I realized she had not let go of my hand… and had not attacked me again.  
  
She opened her mouth to answer, hesitating even more than before. "The Pharaoh," she whispered, looking away.  
  
My mind raced. My eyes widened. I wanted to embrace her again, and stroke her long, silken black hair, and comfort her…  
  
I stopped myself. What in the name of Osiris was I doing…?  
  
I could not. I was overstepping the boundaries already by caring for her… but if I did not care for her, then who would? She whom the gods have forsaken; who else is there to comfort her in her despair?  
  
Words failed me, another surprise. All I could do was continue to stroke her hand with my thumb, the smallest gesture I could think of that would not frighten her and would not cause Osiris himself to abandon his High Priest. However, at that moment, I wanted to give her everything, all that I was, my very soul, to heal her broken soul.  
  
So Anck-su-namun was Pharaoh's newest victim, I thought. I had never seen any of them before, and from that haunted look of Anck-su-namun's, her uncontrollable sobs, and her soul shattered in pieces… I realized how utterly horrible my Pharaoh really was… the man I had served for as long as I could remember, longer still…  
  
Thoughts rushed through the back of my mind, that annoying part of me coming back and scolding me. Imhotep, what are you doing?! Do you realize that she is the most forbidden woman in all of Egypt? You fool, Pharaoh's priest, what has come over you?! I frustrated myself with these incessant arguments. They all seemed unimportant. I knew it still that there was something about her that enchanted me… I would go to any extremes to protect her from the man I had served all my life.  
  
"High Priest," she said in that frightened voice.  
  
"Imhotep," I said.  
  
"I…I…Imhotep," she said, looking at me once more. Her stare was destroying me inside. "Will you listen if I speak? And will you refuse to tell anyone of my speaking?"  
  
"Yes," I replied without hesitation.  
  
"He… he… he…" Anck-su-namun started. She burst into tears once more, just as they had been starting to calm.  
  
I could hesitate no longer. I pulled her into another embrace, hoping my arms around her would give her comfort. She didn't resist this time. She rest her head on my chest, her hand desperately grasping my robes, and she cried. Her tears on my chest made me cry again, more fiercely this time. My tears wet her hair, her beautiful hair.  
  
I was amazed at how much she seemed to need me, to hold onto me, as if I was her only hope in the world. But I was, I realized. I must've been the only one who cared for her… while the rest regarded her as nothing more than Pharaoh's whore, I saw her, truly, and I cared, oh, how I cared for her… how I…  
  
I had to stop my thoughts once again at this. Despite the warm, new feeling that was seeping through me and filling my entire being, I could not…  
  
"I will protect you, Anck-su-namun," I whispered to her.  
  
She looked up at me, her eyes glimmering with wet tears. I saw them light up for a brief moment, until she remembered again. That moment, that fleeting brightness in her eyes, was truly beautiful. Anck-su-namun, I knew, was special. Her soul was beautiful.  
  
Then another unbridled thought entered my mind… how dare he? He who I had regarded with so much respect, my Pharaoh, the only one higher than me… how dare he do this, to such a beautiful creature? How dare he harm her bright soul…? A new anger rose inside of me. How could I continue to call this man Pharaoh, to serve him? I simply could not.  
  
I chose not to think about it. I concentrated on Anck-su-namun, which was not a hard thing to do. I stroked her hair like my former instinct had told me to do. Her hold tightened as she clung to my robes, and she inched closer to me, seeking comfort…  
  
"Shh," I whispered to her, and repeated my vow. "I will protect you, Anck-su-namun. I promise. Pharaoh will never harm you again." Now, how would I manage this? I would. Somehow, I would. I would, after all, do anything for this woman.  
  
This realization hit me once again. All of these emotions were so new to me… I knew not what to do with them. Osiris, forgive me… and help Anck-su-namun, oh please… Do not abandon her… I prayed silently, an obligatory instinct that came with being High Priest.  
  
"You… promise?" Anck-su-namun asked me, desperation in her voice.  
  
"Yes. I promise," I whispered gently to her. "Whatever it takes, I will protect you. I…"  
  
She cut me off before I could go any further. "Thank you… Imhotep…" she said slowly.  
  
"Are you absolutely sincere?" she asked me. "Can I trust you… with my… with my story? You will not tell Pharaoh?"  
  
"I would not even think of telling him," I vowed with every ounce of sincerity within me.  
  
"Will you listen?" she asked again.  
  
"I will listen," I said, loosening my hold on her so she could sit upright.  
  
"Imhotep," she said again. It seemed now like we had a common obsession – saying the other's name. "Please, don't stop holding me." I, of course, complied.  
  
"I was born into this," she began. I stroked her back. "Ever since I was a little girl, my destiny was predetermined. They were just waiting…" A sob escaped her throat. "I don't even remember my mother. She died when I was very small… And my father never wanted me. He didn't care about me at all. I know now that he made a deal with the Pharaoh, to sell me to him when the time came…" She trembled again, as if an unwelcome coldness had just swept into the room. I felt it too. "And so, when I was ten years old, he took me here, to the Palace, presented me to the Pharaoh, and abandoned me, and I don't know of what happened to him and my sisters…  
  
"So I've lived in the Palace since then, since I was six years old. I didn't understand why until I was older, of course…" she continued, a deep sadness lining her voice. "He … he hurts me … almost every night …" As she parted her lips to continue, all that escaped was a muffled scream of agony. "I hate this. Everything… I can't take it anymore…" Her cries had not ceased. I wished to take them from her, anything so that I could bear them instead of her.  
  
"No one has ever… ever cared for me," she whispered, almost inaudibly, against my chest.  
  
I was the first, then… the first person to ever care.  
  
Oh, all I wanted to do was keep on holding her, forever, and never let go… never let her feel pain again… she did not deserve this, in no way could she ever deserve all that had happened to her…  
  
And then, we both pulled away as if an invisible blockade had suddenly come between us.  
  
"You should go," Anck-su-namun said, that same worried look returning. I cursed anything I could curse without facing eternal damnation.  
  
"Anck-su-namun, will you be all right…?" I asked, not wanting to leave her alone like this.  
  
"Yes…" she said. "Thank you, Imhotep."  
  
I rose and our eyes locked again for a mere second, as if pleading with each other to stay together like that forever. We broke off at the same time, and I exited the room. I glanced back briefly and saw her staring after me, tears glistening.  
  
**  
  
Afterwards, I restlessly roamed the hallways, like a lost soul searching for his way home. Sleeping was absolutely out of the question, and the thought of it did not even cross my mind. I wondered about Anck-su-namun – was she all right? Perhaps – perhaps I should not have left her. Perhaps I should have allowed myself to…  
  
To love.  
  
That blissfully warming feeling spread throughout my entire being and overtook me once more. I knew well that all of this was for her, for Anck-su-namun (her name…!). In this night whose ending preceded the break of dawn by far, I had willingly given up my intrusive identity and traded it for that of love. With no regrets.  
  
I couldn't help but smile slightly. Just the thought that I had made her smile, even if it was just for the briefest moment, filled me entirely with joy. This joy conquered all fears of Pharaoh, of the Med Jai discovering how I had held her and wept with her, how I had given her my promises, when no man was allowed to do so much as look at her with lingering eyes.  
  
The rage I now felt was becoming strangely familiar, rage directed toward Pharaoh. His mistresses were all distressed, I knew this much, but I also knew that they had willed themselves to be Pharaoh's possessions. Anck-su-namun was outstanding, for she had not been broken.  
  
Yes, she had been stained, this much was true. But not broken. Her spirit and her integrity were both far too strong for even Pharaoh to destroy. This was incredibly admirable.  
  
But… what if my promise could not be kept? The worry hit me with a huge impact. What if I was the last to betray her before her death, when she would have lived a life full of nothing but betrayal and misery and hatred? I shuddered to think… But no. It would not happen, I would not betray her at any cost. I would even face death to rescue her.  
  
I thought again of how quickly this night had come… and gone. It was truly amazing, everything. Her. Us. We had… I had held her with such gentleness, a tenderness that I had not known myself to possess before her. I was soaring with passion, despite being grounded on the stone floor, in the dark hallways of a Palace that would become my doom.  
  
I suddenly became aware of where I was. I had walked in a complete circle, and once again stood at Anck-su-namun's door, still partly open. I could not help but steal a glance inside, where Anck-su-namun was asleep, another ever-faint smile playing upon her lips. A full smile came to mine this time, and I walked away unnoticed, making a silent vow to return to her as soon as I was granted a blessed chance.  
  
**  
  
When dawn actually did wash over Thebes, making the Palace falsely sparkle, I was in the Temple, desperately praying, pleading in agony, for Anck-su-namun's relief, for Pharaoh to let her be and cease his torment. My prayers have always been intimate, but none as much as these. It was the last time I would pray for such a long time.  
  
I rose from the ground on which I knelt and set out down the stretching, winding hallway once again.  
  
**  
  
Our secret meetings carried on for a few precious weeks. She came to the temple of Osiris often so we could talk, and that we did. We could talk for hours and never run out of things to say, and definitely never tire of the other's company. I longed to take her on a peaceful walk through the gardens at the temple, or stargazing at night, but of course, we couldn't risk anyone seeing us together, so we stayed inside the temple. Sometimes, when I was certain that Pharaoh was out, I would come to her room and we would talk there.  
  
By now, it was certain. I loved her, with all my heart and soul, with all that I was. I admired her intelligence, the strength of her soul, and I respected her completely (thankfully, my love for her was the exact opposite of Pharaoh's lust). With her, I felt complete, something that I had never felt before.  
  
  
The entryway to her room was my sanctuary, it seemed. Almost a month after we first met, I found her sitting upright on the same bed… she had been expecting me.  
  
"Imhotep," she breathed.  
  
I took her hand again, leading her into another beautiful embrace. She sighed contentedly as she leaned against my chest. I was certain now. This was all meant to be, our souls bound forever…  
  
Forever. There was an enigmatic, not yet ominous, comfort in forever. And somehow, I knew that this forever was ours.  
  
As she looked up at me, I repeated my gesture of the first night, the sweeping motion of my hand so close to her face, indicating a touch forbidden. She mirrored it again, smiling peacefully as she did so. There was a look of certainty in her eyes, much like that security inside of me. For the first time, I was at peace.  
  
"Anck-su-namun…" I breathed, drawing out each precious syllable of her name, my life seeming to depend on it. I was almost certain that my now undeniable love (what a wonderful word) was reflected in her deep eyes, leading to her endless soul.  
  
"I love you."  
  
"And I love you," she whispered.  
  
And then it was confirmed. We both leaned into the other in the same moment and shared a deep kiss, perfectly and intricately woven with the threads of the refuge we had found in each other...  
  
When the kiss had ended, neither of us strayed from the other. Our eyes were once more locked – oh, how I loved this unity. It was all so new to me, yet she was so familiar. I was even more certain of it now than ever – this was meant to be, our destiny.  
  
At the moment, I honestly thought that everything would turn out perfectly for us. Pharaoh, his bodyguards, or their punishments, mattered not. All that mattered was our newfound unity, this blissful, destined unity.  
  
"Imhotep, will you return to me tonight?"   
  
"Anything for you," I said without even a slight hesitation.  
  
"You must leave now," she said, remembering the daylight, which danced through her window, lighting her hair and making the long strands sparkle. "Pharaoh is sure to be awake, and the Med Jai are everywhere now. Go, Imhotep. Return…"  
  
I did not want to leave her, and with all my soul I willed the Pharaoh and the Med Jai far away, but I knew as well as she did that I had to leave. Tonight was another promise that I would hold onto as I held onto her.  
  
I mouthed the words "I love you" once more as I rose to depart, giving her one quick kiss.  
  
**  
  
Another few, joyful weeks passed after this. Luckily, no one questioned Anck-su-namun's daily trips to the temple (or suspected that her reasons weren't religious devotion...)  
  
The love that we shared was definitely unique. We genuinely cared for each other, and more than that, completed each other (as I've said before). Circumstance had set us apart, but destiny had bound us together.  
  
In those two months, I had already loved her for an eternity.  
  
**  
  
And then one fateful day, Pharaoh made a cursed announcement. Anck-su-namun had assumed that Pharaoh had tired of her, because he had not called her to his chambers as frequently as he had before, but alas, he wanted to make her one of his wives. This obviously changed everything.  
  
He made the announcement after Anck-su-namun and Pharaoh's daughter Nefertiti had demonstrated a form of combat. Anck-su-namun was excellent at it, and Nefertiti was learning quickly.  
  
And then he announced that Nefertiti was to protect the Bracelet of Anubis, and that Anck-su-namun would protect him as his wife. Now I felt very, very sick. Protect him? She needed protection from the tyrant!  
  
After the announcement, I could tell that she was worried. As I passed by her, I glanced at her and told her with my eyes that I had a plan.   
  
I was thinking of a time when I could take her away from here, away from the Palace… giving up my title as High Priest, along with the honor that came with it, my devotion to the gods, everything. I would give up everything except my love for her, which was all that mattered anymore. And we could finally, somewhere, anywhere, be together in peace.  
  
**  
  
When I entered the grand hall that night, she was already walking toward me. She was still painted gold from that day's rituals. We greeted each other with what had become our trademark gesture, and then held back no longer. We kissed again, passionately. I forgot about the paint covering her body, and smudged a black line on her arm.  
  
Then our worst fear came to life.  
  
We heard footsteps approaching, and even though we both knew whom they belonged to, I told her who it was, and she told me to save myself. I vanished temporarily behind the curtains, to the balcony and watched as she stood beside a statue of Bastet in the center of the room.  
  
Seti then walked into the room and demanded to know who had touched her.  
  
I appeared behind the Pharaoh, his back to me, and stole his sword from its holder in one quick movement. He turned. "Imhotep? My Priest?!" Before he had time to react any further, I raised the sword, and Anck-su-namun raised a dagger…  
  
If the gods had not abandoned me already, they certainly had by now. I was murdering my Pharaoh, a deed unspeakable. I could barely believe it, and I knew in that moment, I was lost. I saw Seti dying, the blood, my ill-fated love and her equally damned dagger. Under all the horror, I saw a strange light... a glow, even. It sickened me to find light in this agony, but I had promised to do anything for her, and here I was fulfilling my vow. The most despicable and even more punishable deed, I decided, was fueled by the purest element ever to exist. Not to mention that the man to whom the deed was done was truly evil for having carried out such a creed of torment.  
  
We both heard more of those ominous footsteps, multiplied twins of those belonging to the Pharaoh.  
  
"Go! Save yourself!" she said to me.  
  
I could not leave her, I could never leave her…  
  
"NO!"  
  
"Only you can resurrect me!" she pleaded.  
  
Did this mean..?  
  
The Med Jai stormed in through the entryway.  
  
"I won't leave you!" I yelled to Anck-su-namun. Then, to my ever-loyal priests, who were now pulling me away from her, "Get away from me!  
  
"Anck-su-namun!" I yelled as they pulled me onto the balcony. Yes, this did mean what I thought it did… I did not hesitate. "I will resurrect you!"  
  
From behind the curtain, I saw more Med Jai storm in, and then, so quickly, the silhouette appeared of my love taking her life. As she plunged the dagger downward, I turned away, my eyes closing.  
  
**  
  
Anck-su-namun was dead. Even with the knowledge that I would resurrect her, using my powers as Keeper of the Dead, I still felt so empty without her. The emptiness that I had felt before our meeting was nothing compared to this. Having never loved, I imagined, instead of having loved and lost, however. But I had not lost anyway... at least, not yet.  
  
My priests and I stole off to Hamunaptra that night with her body, beautiful even in death. Of course, the Med Jai somehow discovered my plan and sentenced us all, leaving Anck-su-namun dead. Her remaining dead was the worst punishment I could receive.  
  
To see my own priests being mummified alive was torture in itself, but then my fate was determined. The Hom Dai. A curse so horrible that it had never even been uttered before…  
  
I was numb by now. Deaf to even my own screams. I was blindly, dizzily spiraling downward toward something that I dared not question. And there was no way up... or was there?  
  
In my last moments before I was cursed for all eternity, I promised again to protect her. Even in death, for it was only the beginning…  
  
**  
  
Three thousand years of cursed darkness gives one time to think, that is true, but moreso it gives them time to surrender. It presents to the cursed, the damned one, a raging battle that is really only one suggestion. Give in to the curse and you will no longer feel the pain.  
  
Of course, the curse takes parts of your soul, or at least covers them with its evil black veil. It is the other, stronger parts of one's soul that damnation must battle for.  
  
Personally, I chose not to accept the Hom Dai's offer, an uncertain bargain that could only leave me with the pain it had promised to take away. So its veil, over three thousand years, hasn't completely suffocated me. That ancient love within my soul still remains, untouched by the evil within me. It is my only salvation, for the rest of me has by now lost the battle. However tired, I didn't chose to retreat.  
  
I suppose I was set free at the right time, just when the curse was becoming stronger still. After all, it was a parasite and I was its unfortunate prey. And so it controlled me and led to my death again, and again...  
  
**  
  
And so, I have endured this Hom Dai. I have, as it indicated, risen. I have killed and robbed people of their freedom. These most horrible acts have all been propelled by, still, the purest element… love.  
  
And I thought that finally, Anck-su-namun and I would be finally find peace in our everlasting love, still alive after more than three thousand years. I resurrected her soul once more, and for that short time, we were together.  
  
The way she gazed at me in awe after her third, first successful, resurrection filled me with joy. Her first word was my name, and my first was hers. For I had not been truly alive until she was alive along with me.  
  
She pleaded with me not to leave her again, she did not want to lose me. Curse the Hom Dai, which was starving for power. I ran from her. The thought of possessing the Army of Anubis filled me with greed. I told her that it was our destiny, but now I know otherwise.  
  
Our only destiny was to be together. But destiny has crumbled. Our forever lies in ruins.  
  
It is her turn to leave me. I call after her, torn apart inside.  
  
Our love has been my only salvation. It is my soul, my entire being. It is stronger than the Hom Dai, and now it's even managed to overcome such a curse. Yes. I still love her as strongly as I first did… And if I left her, and she in turn abandoned me, what soul do I have now? I no longer have any salvation.  
  
I could pull myself up. I do not.  
  
I withdraw my arm and clutch the ledge for a moment, glancing at the O'Connells. I give them, my mortal enemies over the past few millenia, an oh-so-faint smile lying in sorrow, as if saying that everything has ended.  
  
Anck-su-namun is gone.  
  
So am I. I let go. Late death comes as quickly as a chariot and carries my soul away. Much like a chariot I remember seeing before... 


End file.
